Looking for advice on plasma cutter choice

I just ordered a Pro and it’s expected arrival is April, so have a little time.
I included a Razorweld thinking it would be more “plug & play”, but now I’m having doubts & remorse. But I believe I still have time to change my mind and alter my order.

What I’m considering now is a Hypertherm 85. In part, I think the 85 might fit my use better because I already work with metal all day (machinist) and I can see probably wanting to cut thicker material more often than thinner. I’d guess I’ll occasionally cut decorative things, but the bulk of what I’ll be cutting will be functional parts, thus I can see wanting to cut the occasional 3/4" part often enough to wish I had opted for the more powerful machine from the start, i.e. now. Also, it seems obvious that the straight machine torch would be a little better suited for a CNC.

Of course the cost of the Hypertherm is dramatic, but I can see myself probably softening myself up between now & April over the price.

Anybody think I’m on the right track here? If you have a more powerful plasma, whether Hypertherm or other, I’d like to hear what you feel about it now that you’ve spent a bit of time with it. Is there undesirable tradeoffs with the bigger machine that I need to weigh out (other than $$)? Is the 85 overkill for 3/4" or about right?

Thanks for any responses here. I’m not very well-versed with plasma cutters so I sure could use any experienced advice.

Welcome! I’d love that Hypertherm 85 as well…but aware that you may run into some issues with the water table being too shallow for that much power when running full output. I don’t have one, so perhaps someone on here that does can chime in and dispel the issue if it’s not a factor, but that would be my primary concern.

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Yeah thanks. I read something about that too. Maybe someone with direct experience/knowledge will chime in and clear up my thinking.
FYI, if the water table is just too shallow, I’m not opposed to making my own, especially if 1) that would better suit whatever plasma I get and 2) will also be opportunity to fix existing issues I’ve heard regarding the water table anyway.

edit to add: I haven’t decided yet (I have a couple months so…) but I’m kinda leaning at the 65 rather than the 85 for a couple reasons, though nothing in my head is very well thought-out yet.
Any input appreciated. especially if somebody has direct experience with a budget plasma vs. a Hypertherm. I’d really like to not buy a problem, but if a cheaper one works fine I’m OK with that too.
In my head, I’m imagining that small things become magnified once you’re cutting with CNC since you want the thing to cut consistently for a much longer time than you’d do with hand cuts. Am I on the right track?

I installed a stainless “heatshield” in my water table as added protection. It’s 1/16" stainless sheet at the bottom of the water table (under the slats) supported simply by 1/4" SS nuts resting in the water table. My water flow in and out is via the drain fitting. So the water flows in and out around the sheet. Works quite well.

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Once again, it’s those nuts that make things work…

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Well I’ve been looking things over and it seems to me so far that the Powermax65 would be a pretty good fit for the CrossFire Pro size, the overall budget, and the type of parts I’ll likely be cutting.

My thinking is the step up on power will much better suit thicker material up to 3/4" on a fairly routine basis. It’s difficult to know ahead of time, but I expect that most of what I cut will be between 1/4" to 3/4" with only the occasional thinner part. The price diff is around $2500 which is still compared to the X45 and not a different 65-size machine, so still not apples to apples. Anyway, that extra cost doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.

I guess I might still have to buy a cable, but heck, maybe I can just make my own up and save 50 bucks. I could also get the machine torch mount, but being a machinist I can build that essentially for free too.

Anyways, I think I’ve talked myself down from the Powermax 85 hill and though I don’t know for sure, it seems like the 65 should suit my purposes well. If anybody has run into limitations and wishes you had the 85, please post why (especially if you ultimately got an 85 and first-hand results to report). First, I like those kinda stories, and you might correct my thinking if I’m wrong.

Just going off specs here, but if you have the need to cut 3/4, you’d probably do better with a machine that can pierce 3/4. That leaves you with the 85. Again, I’ve only shopped them, so no personal experience with either.

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I know if you read the specs it says 3/4 edge start but with a little higher pierce height and little longer lead in not because it needs it just for slag on the shield it pierces 3/4 fine and makes good cuts.
A little nozzle gel on the shield fixes that problem too.

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Good to know it will pierce 3/4. Thanks for that info.